Wildfires in Australia, tension with Iran, worries over climate change and the upcoming Presidential election. As I write this blog these are all big new items. They all point to uncertainty – what will happen? When you read this blog, some of these stories may have receded in coverage to be replaced with more urgent topics. More uncertainty.
Unemployment, waiting to hear about medical results, upcoming exams, college applications, debt. Uncertainty on a personal level. Times of waiting, wondering, and worrying.
We all face uncertainty at different points in our life. Some may be fleeting and small, others loom much larger. All this upheaval can take a toll. Sleepless nights, headaches, upset stomachs, fear of risk and failure, tension with loved ones.
“Where is God in this?”, we may wonder. Recently, I shared some of my favorite verses with someone who is going through a difficult time, a time of waiting and uncertainty.
Habakkuk 3:17-19a
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
Some of the things I like most about these verses: the first word – Though. Though these terrible things are happening, a time of want and discouragement, then further down – Yet. Yet all these hard things surround me – “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior”. Though times are bad the writer still chooses to rejoice in God, to be joyful in Him. The writer recognizes that God is God and that God is his strength.
God is the same in good times or bad, in plenty or in want. My prayer is that all of us will be able to turn to God in times of uncertainty and say, “I will rejoice in the Lord”.
